Chapter 2: Black Envelope
[Breaking News!]
[The government of Lunaira has signed a deal with ELO, the biggest healthcare institution in the world, this morning. With this amazing news, the President and the CEO of ELO have guaranteed that we are already prepared if another Pandemic would strike the whole world.]
Hugo read the news out loud. He looked over at his phone and couldn't help but to roll his eyes. 'They're just making their names bloom since the election is coming,'
He remembered that when the virus SHR first strike their country, The President was caught having a trip with a lot of women on a yacht. This caused an uproar and the current President was almost impeached for what happened.
"Hugo! It's already lunchtime, let's go."
Hugo stood up from his chair and followed his only best friend, Abigail. He couldn't help but to commend his friend's beauty. Abigail was known to be the prettiest girl in their school.
The woman has long and wavy brown hair. Abigail's eyes were colored like the sky and her body was the slim type. Hugo has already encountered a lot of men trying to hit on Abigail, but all were rejected.
Abigail's reason was always, "I want to finish my education first."
Hugo doesn't understand it actually, but as the woman's friend, he got used to it.
"Eat all you want, it's my treat." Abigail chuckled as he and Hugo ordered some food.
"Alright," Hugo ordered what he wanted before they proceed to sit.
It took them 15 minutes of waiting before the food arrived. A male attendant was busy glancing at Abigail that he didn't see the glass of water on the table when he was placing some food.
"Oh no!" Abigail panicked when the cold water splashed on her body. Since she was wearing a white top, the water wet it, causing her undergarments to be visible from the outside.
"I'm so sorry, Miss!" the male attendant bowed his head and immediately apologized.
When Hugo saw that Abigail's undergarments could be visibly seen, he couldn't help but to look away. He cleared his throat before thinking about what to do. When he remembered that he has a jacket in his bag, he hurriedly grabbed it and stood up.
"It's ok. Can you fetch us another glass of water?" Hugo was the one who answered when he saw that Abigail was busy checking out her wet clothes.
"A-Alright Sit," the male attendant almost sprinted away after Hugo answered.
When Hugo saw that the male attendant was already away, he placed his jacket in Abigail's hands. "Wear this to hide your wet clothes."
"T-thank you," Abigail's face turned red as she accepted Hugo's offering. The woman bit the side of her cheeks to refrain herself from smiling too widely.
'If only you knew why I rejected all those boys who wanted to court me.' Abigail glanced over at the man when she saw that Hugo was already walking back to his seat.
After eating, Hugo and Abigail parted ways since they have different classes. When it was already dismissal time, Hugo went to the library first to study his subjects for the next day.
It was already dark when the man left his school. Since Hugo was studying in the most renowned school in the world, he needs to double his studies. He was just relying on the scholarship that was granted to him.
And if his scholarship got taken away because of a failing mark, then he didn't know how to continue his studies anymore.
Hugo was walking silently on the street when he saw an unknown man standing on the side looking at him. The man was dressed in all black, with a mask, hiding half of his face.
"Hello there, young man." The man greeted Hugo when he saw him passing by in his front.
Hugo was hesitant if he would stop, thinking that it was not him who was being called. When he saw that there were no other people besides him on the street, he hesitantly looked back before stopping.
"What is it?" He curiously asked when he saw that the unknown man removed the mask on his face, revealing a long beard.
The unknown man bowed his head and smiled. "I am Julius, one of the government's specialized agents. You are Hugo, am I correct?
Hugo's forehead creased about what the man uttered. "How did you know my name?" he curiously asked as he doesn't remember mentioning it before.
Julius shook his head. "That is not important now. I heard that your family is in debt of $500,000..." the man brought out a black envelope and smiled. "I have an offer to make for you."
"What is it?" Hugo questioned as he accepted the envelope in his hands. When he looked at it, it was carefully sealed outside.
"The government would pay you $600,000 to join an experiment. You have heard that the government has partnered up with ELO, right? And they are looking for gifted people to try out the new medicine that they have created."
"$600,000? Are you nuts?" Hugo exclaimed after hearing the amount of money being offered to him. "And why me? I didn't even know you, so why would I believe your words?"
Hugo raised one of his eyebrows as he unbelievably stared at the man. 'I wasn't born yesterday to believe such petty words.'
"I am not forcing you. However, open this black envelope if you are interested. You can decide until tomorrow at exactly 5 pm." Julius chuckled as he cleared the lump in his throat.
"And please keep this conversation a secret or else…" the man added in before proceeding to walk away.
Hugo shrugged his shoulder and acted as if nothing had happened. He hid the envelope in his bag before continuing his walk towards their house.
"Where is mother, Hailey?" Hugo greeted his sister with a hug when he reached home.
Hailey shook her head. "I don't know brother. Mother said that she will try to look for more jobs so we could pay Father's debt."
"Look for more Jobs? Mother is already working 2 jobs!" Hugo's eyebrows formed a line from what he heard.
'Is this how serious it is?' He asked himself as he glanced over at the bag in his hand.
"Anyway, there's food already, brother! I will just go to my room to play." Hailey waved her hands cheerfully before running away.
Hugo sighed deeply and look at his sister. The family picture on the side caught his attention. The man glimpse at it. He reminisces about the happy moments that their family shared together.
Their laughter… their family trips, even though it was just on the side of the sea or road.
He remembered the time when his mother announced the death of his father. It was probably one of the most heartbreaking things that he has experienced. He remembered the days that he spent in crying.
In the end, Hugo went to his room and sat on his bed. He took the black envelope out of his bag and stared at it.
"I would be fine after the experiment, right?"
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Author's Note:
I hope you all have a great day.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone